Joint Statement at the 45th Session of the UN Human Rights Council
Universal Periodic Review on Human Rights -- Outcome Adoption for Kenya | Delivered by Martin Ray Taban Mavenjina, Kenya Human Rights Commission
Thank you, Madame President. This is a statement from the Kenya Human Rights Commission and CIVICUS.
During Kenya’s examination under the 2nd UPR cycle, the government received 29 recommendations relating to civic space. Of these recommendations, 20 were accepted while 9 were noted. Of those accepted, our analysis indicates that the government has partially implemented eight recommendations and has not implemented 12.
We welcome that during this cycle, Kenya accepted several recommendations relating to civic space including to “Take further measures towards ensuring the safety of journalists, as well as towards guaranteeing the freedoms of expression, of the press, of association and of peaceful assembly.”
However, Kenya has continued to severely restrict the right to peaceful assembly and expression by cracking down on peaceful assembly through the use of disproportionate force, arrests and detention of peaceful protesters, human rights defenders and journalists. In November 2019, a video which sparked public outrage emerged of four police officers brutally beating an unarmed student as he lay on the ground, following student protests against rising insecurity at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in Juja town
Kenya has failed to hold to account those responsible for the deaths, injuries and arbitrary arrests of protestors and journalists, and has misapplied the legal framework to further restrict civic space. While the Public Order Act requires those who wish to assemble to notify the police three days prior to an assembly, police have often misinterpreted this provision to deny permission to groups.
Madame President, we urge the Government of Kenya to institute charges and prosecute law enforcement officers found to have acted unlawfully in the course of protests by using disproportionate force and firearms in response to protests, and to ensure that the law is not misapplied by authorities to infringe on human rights. We call on the Government of Kenya to take proactive measures to address these concerns and implement the recommendations it has accepted to create and maintain, in law and in practice, an enabling environment for human rights defenders, media houses and journalists. We further call on member states to follow up on their recommendations to ensure their implementation.
Civic space in Kenya is currently rated as Obstructed by the CIVICUS Monitor